Hot Five: GDC 2026, ByteDance to sell Moonton, and Candy Crush’s "incredibly valuable" feedback loop

To help get you primed and ready for another week in mobile gaming, we’ve curated the biggest stories you need to know from the last seven days.

1) GDC 2026 rips off the band-aid

GDC organisers rebranded the show with the Festival of Gaming title this year, following a slow, ongoing decline.

Attendance figures fell by a third from 2025 to 20,000 attendees, its lowest turnout in 15 years, but more than 85 countries were represented and over 700 sessions were still held.

2) ByteDance to sell Moonton to Savvy Games Group in $6bn deal

ByteDance is expected to sell Moonton to Savvy Games Group in the near future in a deal valued at around $6 billion.

ByteDance acquired Moonton itself in 2021 for approximately $4bn.

3) Apple cuts App Store fees in China after regulator talks

Following conversations with Chinese regulators, Apple has reduced App Store commission fees for developers distributing apps in mainland China.

The changes took effect on March 15th, lowering the standard in-app purchases commission from 30% to 25% on the iOS and iPadOS App Store.

4) How a Candy Crush video series triggered an "incredibly valuable" feedback loop

King’s six-part video series Crush & Tell highlighted various development aspects and design insights behind the popular match-3 game Candy Crush.

Candy Crush Saga’s general manager Paula Ingvar spoke with us about Crush & Tell’s production and player feedback, sharing: "We talk a lot about features and updates, but Crush & Tell gave us space to explain the thinking, the care, and sometimes the debates behind what players experience every day."

5) Smartly signs letter of intent to acquire measurement platform Incrmntal

Ad tech platform Smartly signed a letter of intent to acquire Incrmntal, a marketing measurement platform which provides real-time insights into the impact of marketing investments across channels.

"Incrementality is becoming increasingly important in a world where traditional approaches are challenged to move at the speed of AI and the changing consumer journey," said Smartly CEO Laura Desmond.